Puzzle Lane
Workshop Ltd
Puzzle Lane Workshop Limited is an up and coming paper products manufacturer headquartered in Hong Kong.
I was hired as a Web Designer to pilot the rebranding process and establish a web presence for the company. This was my first project working on my own which tested my task prioritisation and overall project organisation skills.
The Client
The major concern for the client is to get their brand onto the web. The company began as a manufacturing company, gaining traction with overseas distributors and importers through networking and word-of-mouth. However they want to spark the potential to go direct-to-consumer, which led to interest in investing towards new talent and need for a contemporary brand and website.
Research
I studied other existing sites in similar industries as my client, these selection spanned from companies across the world as my client wanted their brand to have western appeal rather than catering to the local (Hong Kong). Conducting research was an important part of the process as I was stepping into a brand new industry, this allowed me to gain insight on the overall website structure and important content included.
Carta Mundi
This is a Belgium card printing company with a long history and is a major player in the industry. Their site prioritises promoting their product and different brand names right from the bat, with a heavy use of image galleries.
They also provide collaboration and custom printing services for the general public and other companies. Included are many positive testimonials to act as social proof of their customer service and product quality.
Paley
This is a puzzle and board game manufacturer based in Hong Kong with an environment friendly approach. There is a lack of consideration in the use of brand colours on their site, their product categories are elaborate, but not intuitively designed and can be improved.
Rising Games
This is a board game manufacture based in Hong Kong with a long line of products around board games, chess, card games game accessories etc.
Their website is less intricate and just displays their contact information, product line and company services. This is a suitable baseline of what your company site should look line at a bare minimum.
Ideate
I took inspiration from the existing sites I researched and went from there. My priority was to create an easy-to-use website through a concise process, this is to make it easy to communicate to my client and the rest of their team who are new to the design process.
Home Page
Catalogue Page
Process Page
For the Home Page, I made sure to emphasise the catalogue of products which the company offers and manufactures. This section takes priority as it allows clients to know what the company does right from the get-go.
I wanted to outline the entire scope of the company's products with a balanced use of text and visual images. The nature of clients will want to be educated of the product details.
The Process Page allows clients to understand how they can work with the client. This is end goal, and making procedure clearer and simpler is my attempt to make it more frictionless.
Prototyping
Home Page
I stayed loyal to the original wireframes, emphasising the product catalogues on top of the hierarchy.
I devoted the rest of the page to highlight the company motto and process, summarising the rest of the site and encouraging the clients to learn more.
The primary call-to-action is to get the client to contact the company, where the function of the website is to make the conversation easier by educating them beforehand.
Process Page
As mentioned, the ultimate goal is to get customers in contact with the company. I kept this in mind whilst designing the structure and content of the site, ensuring that it is informative and helps demystify the company.
Confusion often times leads to frustration, this is what I want to help alleviate in potential clients. Through understanding the company process, I want the conversation to start with an idea in mind of how they can cooperate.
This page is to help get the ball rolling.
Product
Catelogue
While the company is still establishing their specific product lines, this page currently shows the manufacturing capabilities of the factory.
The idea is to show clients how the brand encompasses all aspects of the puzzle hobby as well as branching off to other paper products (card & board games).
Demonstrating the company's versatility and depth is a means of summarising the thinking behind this page.
Reflection
Challenges
This was my first project working alone. The challenge centred around task management and client communication as I no longer have a team of people as I am use to, on top working with a company with a very vague knowledge on how the design process work. I had to change from an academic and theoretical approach, and transform to a practical standpoint when justifying my decisions.
One of the obstruction was when I was justifying the Process Page of the site. The company wanted to keep all information behind bars until potential clients reach out directly. I put forward the importance to transparency, that making the process easier for the clients can bring clarity and increased likelihood of a working relationship.
Progress
This project is currently in the development stage of the project, which means the designs mentioned above are slowly coming together to become a functioning site. Looking back it was a valuable learning experience, the push and pull process in receiving feedback as well as defending what I think is subjectively correct. Stepping into an unknown industry is always a huge challenge, but what I got from this project is a resourceful and a wide-broadband mind which will allow me to adapt in similar opportunities in the future.